Tom Selleck, 77, reveals he was ‘scared to death’ when he guest-starred as Monica’s boyfriend on Friends: ‘I hadn’t done a sitcom, I was really nervous’
Tom Selleck was ‘scared to death’ when he guest-starred on Friends.
The 77-year-old actor, who has played the fearless police commissioner on Blue Bloods since 2010, admitted in an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, that he was terrified about taking the role for a series of appearances as Dr Richard Burke, the short-term boyfriend of Courteney Cox’s character Monica Geller.
The reason, the heartthrob said, was because he had never done a comedy series.
Scared?: Tom Selleck revealed he was ‘scared to death’ when he was hired to play Monica’s boyfriend on the hit sitcom Friends in 1995
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Scared?: Tom Selleck revealed he was ‘scared to death’ when he was hired to play Monica’s boyfriend on the hit sitcom Friends in 1995
New experience: The TV tough guy told talk show host Kelly Clarkson the Friends experience was initially frightening because he had never worked on a sitcom before
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New experience: The TV tough guy told talk show host Kelly Clarkson the Friends experience was initially frightening because he had never worked on a sitcom before
‘The hardest thing is to guest on a show,’ said the actor.
Referring to his trepidation about joining the troupe, that consisted of not only Courteney, but Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry, on the highly rated sitcom in 1995, he explained, ‘I was scared to death.
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‘I had done [an episode of] Taxi a long time before, but I hadn’t done a sitcom. And so, I was really nervous.’
However, the journeyman actor went on to explain that his co-star, Courteney, had been a ‘big help’ in welcoming him onto the set.
Remembering Richard: The actor played against Courteney Cox as Monica’s much older boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke in nine episodes from 1995-2000
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Remembering Richard: The actor played against Courteney Cox as Monica’s much older boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke in nine episodes from 1995-2000
Fast friends: Tom credits co-star Courteney Cox with putting him at ease, ‘ That group’s an incredible group of friends… And it shows. It was a wonderful place to work.’
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Fast friends: Tom credits co-star Courteney Cox with putting him at ease, ‘ That group’s an incredible group of friends… And it shows. It was a wonderful place to work.’
‘Courteney helped a lot. Courteney’s a big help.’
‘But that group’s an incredible group of friends. They obviously became friends in life as well as on the show. And it shows. It was a wonderful place to work.’
Tom was only supposed to guest star on the sitcom for three episodes and although Richard and Monica eventually broke up, he made a total of nine appearances between 1995 and 2000.
Blue Bloods: The 77-year-old actor has starred as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on the drama Blue Bloods since 2010
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Blue Bloods: The 77-year-old actor has starred as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on the drama Blue Bloods since 2010
The veteran actor said he uses that experience to try to set others at ease. ‘I try to relax the new actors because that’s really hard to come on a show where everybody’s up to speed.’
The actor wore a Frank Reagan-esque dark three piece blue suit and tie with a lighter blue shirt for his appearance on the talk show. He also sported a salt and pepper goatee beneath his trademark mustache.
When asked about his ‘stache, the actor revealed ‘before Magnum, I worked most of the time without it. Maybe that’s why I did six unsold pilots.’ .
Trademark Mustache: When asked about his trademark mustache, the former Magnum, PI explained ‘before Magnum, I worked most of the time without it. Maybe that’s why I did six unsold pilots’
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Trademark Mustache: When asked about his trademark mustache, the former Magnum, PI explained ‘before Magnum, I worked most of the time without it. Maybe that’s why I did six unsold pilots’
Tom Selleck Defends His ‘Magnum P.I.’ Short Shorts – YouTube
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